Tour of the Ionia Blanchard House provides a look into Ionia's past

Wednesday

May 15, 2013 at 2:32 PMMay 15, 2013 at 2:39 PM

Ionia Middle School students from Christopher Cole's fifth hour visited the Ionia Blanchard House Tuesday for the second half of their history tour. Students from the classes on the tour are split into two groups: one learning about Civil War weaponry outside with volunteer Hank Knoop and one touring the Blanchard House inside.

Mattie Cookmattie.cook@sentinel-standard.com

Ionia Middle School students in Christopher Cole's fifth hour visited the Ionia Blanchard House Tuesday for the second half of their history tour. Students from the classes on the tour are split into two groups: one learning about Civil War weaponry outside with volunteer Hank Knoop and one touring the Blanchard House inside.

The inside tour was designed to introduce middle schoolers to the history of Ionia, as well as the history of the Blanchard House. Leading the inside tours were volunteers Mike Gallagher, Barb Hogan and Linda Ciangi.

The students began their tour with a presentation of typical furniture from the 1880s which is on display throughout the home. Gallagher instructed the students to sit down on pieces of period furniture in order to introduce them to the past.

"You are sitting on settees, and these are pretty uncomfortable, aren't they? A lot different from what we lounge on now," said Gallagher.

In addition to talking about the evolution of furniture, Gallagher also explained to students how fancy the home was when it was built. One example of this are the gas lights on the chandeliers located throughout the home. Although these are original pieces, they have been updated for electricity. Gas lights were preferable at the time due to how much more light they afforded in comparison to kerosene lamps.

In order to expose students to life in the 19th century, Gallagher had the students guess how frequently the average individual bathed in the 1880s. Although many students' guesses were in the weekly to bi-weekly range, Gallagher informed them that it was often a much longer stretch.

"Typically, people bathed once a month or less in a wash tub. They would heat up the water, pour it into the tub and then each person in the family would bathe in the same water," said Gallagher.

As students were led into the dining room, Gallagher explained that most food at the Blanchard House was prepared in the basement by hired help and was brought upstairs through the use of a dumbwaiter. In the kitchen, students were introduced to the differences in educational policy then and now. In the late 1800s, the father predominately chose which children would attend school and for how long they would continue their education. Schooling opportunities were not equal between girls and boys and very few individuals graduated high school in this era.

Students also had the opportunity to learn more about who the Blanchard's were. Both John and Harriet Blanchard were originally from a small town in New York. Harriet Blanchard, formerly Harriet Brewster, was raised in a wealthy family, whereas John Blanchard was poor.

"Blanchard was a self-made man. He became a lawyer and moved to Ionia and became very successful," said Gallagher.

According to Gallagher, before the Blanchard's were married, Harriet's family urged her not to marry John Blanchard. Harriet's family warned her that he would not amount to much and also said that if they were to wed, she would spend her life living in a pig pen.

The predictions of the Brewster family could not have been further from the reality. Blanchard became a prosperous attorney and served as the Ionia County prosecuting attorney for five years. He was even a candidate for lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket in 1872.

The overall tour included insight into the history of Ionia Schools through an exhibit in the basement. This portion of the tour was led by Ciangi, in addition to the tour of the home with Gallagher and Hogan.

For each of the three volunteers inside the home, the overarching goal of this particular tour was different. For Gallagher, the introduction of the house through the tours was to give students a broader understanding of history, both locally and in general. He urged each student to research their family history and see if they were able to find any interesting stories relating to the development of their last name. Ciangi cited the importance of showing students that they have come from a long line of alumni who have gone on to do a wide variety of things.

"For me, the overall goal of these tours is to give students a greater appreciation of their town," said Hogan.

The Ionia Blanchard House is open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. every Sunday beginning on May 12 and lasting through Sept. 1. Tours can also be arranged by calling the Ionia County Historical Society at 616-527-6281 or via e-mail at info@ioniahistory.org.